


The Happiest Place on Earth

by conformityissuicide



Series: McGarrett-Williams Family Saga [19]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Disney World, Family, Family Vacation, Fluff, M/M, so much fluff it'll rot your teeth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-18
Updated: 2012-09-22
Packaged: 2017-11-12 09:36:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/489418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/conformityissuicide/pseuds/conformityissuicide
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grace and Avery plan a covert mission to get their parents to take them to Disney World. Steve, because he's an overgrown child, thinks it's the best idea they've had. And that's how they end up on a plane to Disney World.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy the newest snapshot in the lives of the McGarrett-Williams family! This one is so fluffy it will rot your teeth :) This is only part 1, part 2 will be coming next so stay tuned!!
> 
> This story is dedicated to EldonD who requested a story about Steve and Danny taking the girls to Disneyland. I switched it to Disney World because I'm an East Coaster and know a whole lot more about Disney World. And I'm going to Disney World on vacation in December, so I'm a little bias.
> 
> Thanks to my wonderful beta jerseybelle for everything she's helped me with :) Enjoy!

“I think we are going to have to broach the subject of subtly with them soon,” Danny said as he pulled the thousandth Disney-themed sticker off his coffee mug. 

Steve laughed, discarding his own Donald Duck sticker that had found its way onto his favorite pair of cargo pants. “Well, they have done a good job of making their intentions perfectly clear about where they would like our next vacation to be.”

“Yeah, but subtly, thy name is not Grace Williams or Avery McGarrett. Plus, we’ve told them multiple times that Disney World is just not a vacation within our budget.”

“About that,” Steve started, “Some online print-outs may have found their way onto my desk with a whole sleeve of Minnie Mouse stickers. And, being the ever so diligent and detailed-oriented person that I am-”

Danny scoffed, but Steve continued unhindered, “I read them. It turns out that military personnel get discounts on tickets at Disney World. I redid the math and I think we could manage a trip to Disney World.”

“And when you say we can manage a trip to Disney World do you mean the tickets were discounted so much we don’t have to worry about anything or do you mean that we won’t be eating anything other than ramen and frozen pizzas for the next year and a half in order to afford everything?”

“We won’t be swimming in cash and it will be tight, but I got an extra bonus from the Navy because I saw action this year and the discount really does help.”

Danny couldn’t help but laugh at the puppy dog eyes Steve was sending his way. “You are just a big kid, you know that right. I’m sure you’ve been aiming towards a trip to Disney World ever since the first Goofy sticker appeared on your desk at work. Alright, if you show me the altered prices and I’m comfortable with it, we can book it.”

Steve managed to control his excitement to just giving Danny a quick kiss, but Danny knew that if his husband wasn’t ‘Super Smooth Cool SEAL’ he’d be jumping up and down.

And even Danny had to admit, Disney World was the happiest place on Earth.

*H50*  
“Okay this way,” Danny instructed as he held onto Grace’s hands and glanced behind him one last time to make sure that Steve had Avery. They made their way through the Honolulu airport, checking the departure board one last time to make sure they had the right gate.

“Alright,” Danny said as he settled both girls in their seats by the gate, “Stay here with your Dad and I’m going to go get everyone a bottle of water.”

“Can I have juice,” Grace asked.

“Water only for now; you can order juice on the plane if you want.”

“You alright with your assignment, Super SEAL,” Danny smirked towards Steve who was gracefully folding his tall frame into one of the uncomfortable airport seats. 

Steve stuck his tongue out in Danny’s direction, already acting more loose and relaxed than Danny had seen him in months.

It turned out that not only was a vacation to the most magical place on Earth going to be a dream come true for their two girls, it seemed to bring out Steve’s inner child and gave him an excuse to lower the walls a little and have some fun.

Steve’s new relaxed mindset had also led to some interesting bedroom encounters over the past week or two.

Danny was certainly a happy man.

So happy he was considering looking into an annual Disney membership if it meant his husband was always that vibrant and carefree in bed.

Danny smiled at Steve while the girls sniggered behind their hands before Steve’s hands descended on both of them, tickling them into submission until they were clutching their stomachs from laughing so hard.

Danny looked back at his family one last time before making his way to one of the many concession stands littered throughout the airport. The line was a few people deep and growing so he quickly took his place behind an older woman.

“Is that your family,” a voice asked from behind him. Danny turned to see a woman in her early thirties with a bright smile and kind eyes.

“Yeah, they are, quite an embarrassing bunch, huh,” he joked as they watched Avery pull out a headband with two yellow socks attached to them and put them on her head while hanging her tongue out of her mouth.

“I think they’re precious,” the woman replied, “Is she pretending to be Goofy?”

“I believe those are her Pluto ears, but, trust me, I’m sure she’s got the Goofy ones in that backpack somewhere.”

“How old are they?”

“They are both nine. Grace, the one not wearing homemade Disney costumes, is a few months older.”

“Are you guys on your way home from vacation?”

The line began to move ahead as they continued their conversation, “No, heading out. We are taking the girls to Disney World for the first time. They’ve been not-so-subtlety implying they want to go by leaving Disney stickers everywhere, and by everywhere I mean everywhere. I’ve found them on every coffee mug in the house, our clothes, TV clickers, paperwork (that was hard to explain to our boss), our beach chairs, the desk in the home office, their bedrooms. And then after we told them we just didn’t think we could do it this year, they started printing out information about ticket discounts for military personnel and telling us which hotels had better prices.”

“Isn’t that such a creative way to go about it! You guys have some smart little girls.”

“Or conniving depending on how you spin it.”

The woman laughed as they continued to move towards the promise land of airport food. “My husband is a bit of a pushover too.” She inclined her head towards Steve who was now wearing the Goofy ears on his head while Grace snapped pictures of him and Avery.

“I think he was more excited about this trip than they were. He couldn’t fall asleep at all last night.”

“I hear you on that. Sometimes I think I have four children instead of three.”

“How old are your kids?”

She pointed to a group of young children crowding around an older man who was attempting to dole out granola bars to everyone, “Our oldest is our daughter; she’s eight. Our two sons are five and three.”

“Busy house.”

“You have no idea.”

“Are you guys heading home from vacation?”

She nodded, “Although I wish we didn’t have to leave. You are so lucky to live here.”

Danny laughed, “Yeah, you may want to have that conversation with Steve. I’ve never been a huge fan of the island, though; it has grown on me over the years. I think someone tall, dark, and handsome has helped with that.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I moved to Alaska for three years for love while he worked for a research team up there. We lived in a cottage that had its own airstrip because you couldn’t get to the grocery store without flying a little prop plane. I would count your move as a win.”

“Perspective, I like that. I’m sure someday my husband will manage to track down your name and number and thank you for my newfound appreciation of life in Hawaii.”

It was Danny’s turn now to order and he got three bottles of water and a coffee for himself before smiling at the woman behind him and wishing her a safe flight and heading back towards his family.

“Alright,” Danny said, “I’ve got water for each of my children, Grace, Avery, and Steven.”

The girls giggled as they both pulled on one of the socks masquerading as Goofy ears on Steve’s head.

Danny sat down next to Steve, sipping at his coffee. “I like this new look on you, babe.”

Steve stole a kiss before taking Danny’s coffee out of his hand and taking a big gulp. With a shrug of his shoulders at Danny’s put-upon face, “I didn’t sleep well last night.”

Danny rolled his eyes and rescued his coffee from Steve’s grasp. “I had a nice conversation with a woman in line. She told me about her time living in Alaska and how she moved there for love. I can now officially say that I don’t mind staying in Hawaii for you.”

“What was her name? I need to send her a thank you card,” Steve replied as Danny punched him in the arm for being a smartass, even though he was expecting it.

*H50*  
Danny settled into his seat on the airplane as Steve put their bags in the overhead. Danny leaned over the aisle to speak to the two girls who were sitting next to an older woman who was smiling sweetly at them.

“Girls, remember to behave or one of you is coming over here and sitting with Steve and the other is sitting with me.” Against his better judgment, and Steve’s incessant assurance it will be fine, he agreed to let the girls sit together in the seats across the aisle from their parents.

It wasn’t that he was worried they would bother the woman next to them on purpose; he just knew they could get overzealous if they wanted. Plus, like Steve, neither girl was very good at sitting still for all that long. When he voiced his concern they both rolled their eyes and told him they would probably be more annoying if they didn’t have each other to play with.

Steve, the fucker, backed them up on that point, and so Danny was outvoted and had to sit and glance over at them with a wary eye every few minutes until Steve gently scolded him, telling him to relax and let the girls do their thing.

So he did relax and ended up sleeping away a few hours of the trip leaning against Steve’s shoulder. He woke to Steve reading a book and the girls chattering away as they played Go Fish with the woman sitting next to them.

Sitting up immediately, he turned to Steve, “You haven’t been paying attention to them to make sure they aren’t bothering that poor woman.”

“Of course I’ve been paying attention. She assured me that she didn’t mind playing with them, in fact, she said it reminded her of playing with her grandchildren. I promise everything is fine.”

Danny, not sure if he believed Steve, looked over and listened to the conversation.

“Yeah, we’re going to Disney World for the first time ever,” Grace said as she told the woman to ‘go fish’.

“Well that’s exciting,” the woman replied. 

Avery, never one to stay silent in a conversation for long, butted in, “Yeah, and we’re going to meet all the princesses and we’re going to meet Lilo and Stitch. They’re from Hawaii, just like us.”

“You girls are from Hawaii?”

Both girls nodded. “Well, I was really born in Virginia, but I moved to Hawaii when I was really small, so I don’t remember anything but Hawaii. And Grace was born in New Jersey, but she moved here when she was five. My dad grew up in Hawaii too!”

“Wow! Your Dad must be happy that he gets to live where he grew up.”

“He loves Hawaii, but I think he misses Virginia too because that was where he was a SEAL.”

“Your father was a seal?”

Danny and Steve couldn’t help but laugh at the woman’s confused face. Avery had no idea that a normal person’s immediate thought when being told someone was a SEAL was actually the sweet aquatic creature, not the highly-dangerous special operative.

Danny leaned towards the seats across the aisle and reminded Avery, “Aves, why don’t you make sure that this nice woman knows what you mean when you say that Dad was a SEAL.”

“He’s a SEAL in the Navy. It means Sea, Air, and Land. He can fight on sea, air, and land and he’s the best in the entire United States military! Now he’s only in the reserves, but when he lived in Virginia he was a SEAL all the time.”

“Wow, your father has a very impressive job.”

“Yeah, but now him and Danno have even cooler jobs,” Grace interjected, “They run Five-0!”

“What’s Five-0?”

“Five-0 is the special Governor’s police task force. Steve was asked to lead it after Avery’s Grandpa was killed and Steve came back to the island. And then he met Danno and realized that Danno was the best detective in the whole world and made him be his partner.” Grace finished with a small nod of her head, feeling confident that she had made sure the woman knew that both of their parents had cool, impressive jobs.

“Well, you two must be very proud.”

“We are very proud,” Avery agreed.

“They’re the best parents! And not just because they are taking us to Disney World.”

Danny couldn’t help the smile that pulled at his face as the girls continued to explain to the woman exactly why they were the coolest parents in the world.

Fine, Danny was smug.

His daughter’s loved him and that was the coolest thing any parent could hear.

They began their descent into Orlando shortly after, Danny double-checking that the girls’ seatbelts were securely fastened before stretching over Steve to see out the window.

“Can you see Disney World,” Avery asked Danny. “We can’t see it on our side.”

“No, you can’t see Disney from here, but we are going to be there really soon,” Danny replied.

As they were walking down the jet way into the Orlando airport, the woman who had been sitting next to the girls came up to them. “You have done a wonderful job raising your two girls. I am so glad you found an adoption agency that let you adopt. I think it’s so sad that so many wonderful couples like you are being denied the right to raise a child.”

Danny smiled, “Oh no, ma’am, they aren’t adopted. I promise that would be very obvious if you knew us better.”

The woman laughed, a faint blush rising on her cheeks, “I’m so sorry, I just assumed.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Steve assured, “We are flattered either way by your compliment. We hope the girls didn’t drive you completely nuts with all their talking.”

“Not in the least bit. Well, have a wonderful vacation.”

“Thanks,” Danny and Steve said as they waved her off and took ahold of each girl and walked towards baggage claim.

“So when are we going to see Disney,” Grace asked as she stood on her tiptoes beside the baggage carousel, trying to see out the sliding doors.

“It’s about an hour drive from here,” Steve said, “But we get to take the special Disney bus to get there.”

“Yay,” both girls yelled.

The bus ride to the hotel was quiet, the jet lag finally beginning to sink in as both girls fell asleep almost immediately. As the Disney sign came into view on the horizon, Danny nudged Steve to get his attention, indicating with his raised eyebrows that they should wake up the girls so they didn’t miss it.

“Grace, Avery,” Steve said quietly, “You can see Disney now.”

They blinked up at their father, taking a few moments before they realized what it was he said, but as soon as their sleep-laden minds processed the information they jumped up in their seats and pressed their noses against the window. 

“Oh, the sign! I can see the sign!”

“This is going to be the best vacation ever!”

Steve wrapped an arm around Danny’s shoulders, pulling him closer. “It’s going to be the best vacation ever.”

“It sure is, Super SEAL because we’re going as a family.”


	2. Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the continuation of our favorite family's trip to Disney World. I would like to point out that I do realize that Disneyland would be a shorter flight and more cost efficient, however, I am one hundred percent bias in my belief that Disney World is a thousand times better. Plus I am much more familiar with Disney World than I am with Disneyland. So, yeah, I went with it :)
> 
> Thanks to my awesome beta jerseybelle :) Enjoy!

Never again was Danny letting Steve convince him that going to Disney World was the perfect vacation.

In Danny’s humble (or not so humble, whatever) opinion, a vacation was supposed to be relaxing. Sure, he wasn’t one for sitting on the beach all day, especially now that he lived on a beach, but he didn’t think going 24/7 was really the way to get away from life.

And he definitely didn’t think that being woken up at god-awful o’clock in the morning was the way to start any day of a vacation. But, then again, he should expect that since he was in Disney World with two nine year olds and a husband who might as well be nine with how he’d been acting around the parks for the first few days.

“C’mon, Danno, we’ve let you rest a whole extra thirty minutes and everything,” Grace said as she and Avery bounced on the bed Danny was currently curled up in.

“Thirty extra minutes, huh,” Danny questioned as he grabbed both girls by the ankles, causing them to fall on their bottoms, and pulling them flush against each side. “You must have gone somewhere if I actually slept since you two are terrible at being quiet.”

“Dad took us for breakfast,” Avery replied as she inclined her head towards the doorway where Steve was toeing off his shoes.

Steve just smiled a small smile, a blush rising up his cheeks at the intense, loving gaze Danny was shooting in his direction.

Danny takes it all back.

Steve is a wonderful husband, child-like behavior in Disney be damned.

“Well, now I know why I feel so rested this morning, must be all that extra sleep. So where are we going today?”

“Magic Kingdom!”

“Epcot!”

“Animal Kingdom!”

Danny smiled at his family and their unending excitement.

“Well, I guess it’s another rock, paper, scissors day,” Danny said laughing as Steve, Grace, and Avery huddled around the bed to duke out who gets to choose the park they go to for the day.

In the end Avery won, so twenty minutes later the McGarrett-Williams clan was off to the Magic Kingdom.

*H50*  
“Just one more time, please,” Avery begged complete with puppy-dog eyes and praying hands as Danny steered her away from the line for Splash Mountain.

“I think it’s time for us to try a ride that all of us can go on together,” Danny reasoned as they walked towards the bench Grace and Steve were sitting on.

“We saw you get all wet,” Grace said, standing up and rushing over to them, “It looked so funny!”

“Well, if you came you’d get wet too,” Avery grumbled under breath as Grace looked close to tears.

“Avery Lynne,” Danny admonished as Steve scooped Grace up in his arms and rubbed soothing circles onto her back, “You need to apologize right now. Grace is scared of roller coasters, and there’s nothing wrong with that. You’ve been able to go on any ride you want, and Grace hasn’t made a fuss about all the waiting. In turn, you shouldn’t make a fuss when you can’t go on a ride a third time.”

Avery stomped her foot and turned her back to Danny.

“McGarrett stubbornness,” Danny mumbled under his breath. He received a withering stare from Steve for his trouble.

“Okay, so I guess that means we’re done for the day, huh Steve,” Danny said so both girls heard him clearly.

“If there aren’t any rides everyone is willing to go on then that must mean we’ve hit them all and can head out,” Steve replied, catching on to Danny’s plan.

Both girls, expectedly, protested loudly, promising to be good. They even went as far as to make a grand gesture of giving each other a big hug and kiss.

“See,” Grace said as she slung an arm around Avery’s shoulders, “We’re all better, completely forgiven! And we want to go on Winnie the Pooh.”

“What do you think, Steve? Think we have time to go on Winnie the Pooh again?”

Steve, very seriously, studied his watch and appeared to be contemplating the validity of the plan while both girls vibrated with excitement next to him.

“C’mon, Daddy, just say it’s okay,” Avery exclaimed loud enough to cause a few mothers to stare haughtily in their direction.

“Well, I think we can fit one more ride in before our dinner reservations.”

“Yes!”

Danny and Steve laughed as the two girls held hands and walked as fast as possible without running (which Steve and Danny had banned since the first day they were there and almost lost them in a crowd) towards the line for Winnie the Pooh.

“How long is the wait time,” Danny asked as he and Steve walked together a few steps behind, but close enough to grab hold if something was to happen.

Steve pulled out his phone and hit a few buttons to pull up the Disney Waits app. He scrolled down to Winnie the Pooh, “Thirty minutes, definitely enough time to ride it and get over to the Crystal Palace for dinner.”

“They’re going to faint with excitement when we arrive at dinner, you know that, right? And Winnie the Pooh is the best ride to experience right before a surprise dinner with Pooh and his friends.”

Steve grabbed hold of Danny’s hand for a brief second, “I know.”

Watching Steve and girls goof around in the lines always made Danny laugh. The number one biggest downside to a vacation in Disney World was waiting in line, especially with two nine year old girls who had the attention span of a walnut.

To make the time go by quicker, and in turn make the girls less likely to ask the ever-annoying question ‘Is the wait almost over yet,’ Steve had invented a game to play. Danny would laugh and mock him about it if it didn’t protect his precious sanity.

Anyway, Steve’s game involved coming up with a story based off the ride they were waiting for. In Disney lines you walked in and out of rooms that were all designed and decorated to reflect the theme of the ride. As they walked through the rooms, they alternated turns coming up with a story about their made-up character Kamali'i Wahine Kono and her adventures in Disney stories. 

Steve had put some serious thought into this, and when they were waiting in the first line had explained Kamali’i Wahine Kono’s entire back story and how she could jump from story to story because that was her super-power.

Danny suspected that Auntie Kono played some role in his husband’s ingenious line-waiting game.

Kamali’i Wahine Kono had already chased Bre’r Rabbit through the forest, traveled around the world singing ‘It’s a Small World,’ rode a pet dinosaur, was a safari tour guide, tried to put the ghosts of hotel guests to rest peacefully, and had jammed out on-stage with one of the best bands of all-time. And the week wasn’t even half over.

Now, Grace and Avery were filling the air with a gripping tale of Kono’s journey through the Hundred Acre Wood in search of Pooh’s lost honey pot. Apparently Kamali’i Wahine Kono needed help from all of Pooh’s friends, including Steve’s favorite (naturally), Tigger.

The woman standing behind Danny laughed each time one girl interrupted the other’s turn at story-telling. 

“My girls can’t let the other speak either,” she said eventually after Danny had turned around multiple times. “Granted, they are four years apart in age and the oldest thinks she knows everything and the youngest just tries to get her big sister to like her. I’m anticipating some tough teenage years.”

Danny sympathized; he really did, because he could not fathom what a mini-McGarrett with a Williams female for a sidekick would get up to with a few extra inches and a boat-load of hormones floating around.

He shivered involuntarily at the thought; it involved drinking, skimpy clothing, and Steve cleaning his guns while a boy in a tux waited in the entryway with a corsage in his hand.

“I’m not sure if them being the same age is better or worse; they’ll go through everything at the same time, at least you get a little break in between.”

“That is true,” the woman agreed. “This is Amelia. We’re waiting for this ride while her sister and dad are on The Haunted Mansion.”

She pushed a small girl, no more than five towards Danny.

“Hi, Amelia, my name is Danny.” He bent down so that he was eye-level with her, “Do you like Winnie the Pooh?”

She nodded her head, arms still clinging to her mom’s leg.

“Me, too,” Danny exclaimed, “He’s my favorite, much better than any silly haunted mansion; your dad and sister are missing out. Don’t you agree?”

She nodded again and Danny stuck his hand out for a high-five. The little girl giggled and smacked her hand against it playfully.

“Hey, Amelia, do you like to tell stories?”

“Yeah,” she said quietly, her hands slowly letting go of their death grip on her Mom’s clothes.

“Well, my daughters, Grace and Avery, are telling stories with their Dad, Steve, do you want to join?”

Amelia looked up at her Mom and back towards Danny a few times, feet already poised to walk forward, but held back until her mother gave her the okay.

Amelia smiled and began to walk towards Steve and the girls. She faltered for a minute, glancing back at Danny before whipping her head back around towards Steve.

After a few more moments of contemplation she walked back towards her mom and pulled on her shorts, “Mom, I’m confused.”

“About what, sweetie?”

“How is that man their Daddy too? I thought you only get one Daddy?”

The woman, horrorstricken, blushed a deep shade of red before apologizing profusely to Danny. He hushed her immediately, telling her not to worry about it, her daughter was just being curious and that was completely normal.

“Amelia, some boys and girls don’t have a Mommy and a Daddy. Some boys and girls have two Daddies or two Mommies, or just one Mommy or Daddy.”

“Why?”

“Because love can be found anywhere.”

And because Amelia was five she accepted the answer and walked back towards Avery and Grace who immediately wove her into the story they had started to create.

“I’m so sorry,” the woman apologized again.

“It’s really no problem. I promise we’ve heard much worse from people who are supposed to love us. Grace’s mom has never been too keen on my relationship with Steve, but I think that has always had less to do with the gay thing and more to do with the her new relationship sucks thing.”

The woman laughed. Leave it to Danny to diffuse an awkward situation with perfectly placed humor.

Well, he did have mammal-to-mammal skills, unlike Steve.

“So, one is your biological daughter from a previous relationship?”

“Yup, and Avery is Steve’s daughter from a previous relationship too, but Avery’s mom has never been in her life. It’s always been just Steve, his father, or Steve and I.”

“Well, you’d never know that you had all that extra drama from just looking at you guys. You have such an amazing family.”

Danny blushed. He couldn’t help the immense feeling of pride he was beginning to develop during this trip. He thanked the woman and turned back towards Steve.

“Careful, Detective, or your father ego might not be able to fit on the ride due to weight restrictions.”

“Shut up,” Danny responded playfully.

Steve’s line game worked wonders, and before they knew it, they were piling into a cart with Amelia and her mom in the back row. After the ride they said goodbye to their new friends and headed towards The Crystal Palace.

“Where are we going for dinner,” Grace asked as she grabbed hold of Steve’s hand.

“It’s a surprise, so be sure to hold on tight!”

Grace looked over at Avery, who was holding onto Danny’s hand, and the two girls giggled. Danny and Steve expertly navigated their way through the throngs of people fighting their way to get into the park and stopped right in front of The Crystal Palace, just in time for their reservation.

Steve went up to the hostess and gave their name. A big smile spread across her face as soon as she saw Grace and Avery standing on their tiptoes trying to see what was inside.

“Do you girls like Winnie the Pooh,” she asked as she directed them towards a table. They nodded. “Well, then you two are in for a treat. Pooh and his friends are here to have some dinner, too.”

Danny couldn’t help but laugh. Both girls had stopped midstep, their mouths gaped open and their eyes went wide. “Really?”

“Yup, Tigger, Pooh, Piglet, and Eeyore are all here to have a nice dinner. And, if you ask nicely, I bet they’d be willing to pose for a picture or sign an autograph.”

“Oh, Daddy, Danno, please can we get pictures with Pooh Bear and Piglet and Eeyore,” Avery begged.

“What about Tigger,” Steve asked; Tigger was his favorite.

“Tigger too, but Daddy you should take a picture with Tigger since he’s your favorite.”

“Well, Pooh and his friends are happy to take a picture with anyone,” the hostess said as she stopped at their table, “Have a wonderful meal. Your server will be by in a few moments to get your drink orders and then you’re welcome to start at the buffet at any time.”

“Thanks,” Steve said as he helped Grace pull out the chair. “So, how do you girls like your surprise?”

“You’re the best Dads ever!” Avery said as she flung her arms around Steve’s neck.

“Yeah, the best,” Grace agreed with a huge smile.

Danny blushed, he couldn’t help it. No matter how old he got or how often he heard it, it would never get old to have the girls tell him what great father they were.

The rest of their trip flew by in a blur of bright colors, screaming girls, and bubbly Disney characters. All in all, even with the long flight and the ridiculous time change, the vacation was a big success. But all too soon they were packing up their suitcases and heading to the airport, the girls pouting the whole way there.

“Girls,” Danny admonished, “We spent an entire week in Disney World, now it’s time to go home. But we have tons of pictures to load onto the computer so we can do that soon and relive all of our wonderful memories.”

“Yeah,” Steve added, “Plus, think about this, most people who are on our flight are coming to Hawaii for a week-long vacation, you get to live there year-round. That’s pretty lucky.”

“I guess,” Avery replied grumpily, “But Disney is way better than Hawaii.”

“Vacation is always better than home, but the important thing is that we enjoyed our time. Did you girls enjoy your time at Disney?”

“It was the best.”

“Then I say we put this vacation in the win column.”

Both girls began to drift off to sleep soon after, the excitement and adrenaline that had been pouring through their bodies for the last week finally dissipating and allowing them to relax a little. 

Danny grabbed Steve’s hand from across the bus seat. Steve squeezed back, but didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. Danny knew exactly what he was thinking because he was thinking it too.

Life didn’t get much better than this.


End file.
